CHAPTER 93
HOUSE BILL No. 2818
An Act concerning agriculture; creating the sunflower
commodity commission; prescribing
certain powers, duties and responsibilities; assessments; amending
K.S.A. 2-3001, 2-
3002, 2-3003, 2-3006 and 2-3007 and repealing the existing
sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 2-3001 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 2-
3001. As used in this act, unless the context clearly requires
otherwise:
(a) ``Grower'' means any natural person,
partnership, association, cor-
poration or other legal entity engaged in the growing of corn,
grain sor-
ghum, soybeans or, wheat or
sunflowers who owns or who shares in the
ownership and risk of loss of such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat
or sunflowers, whether as landlord or tenant. For the
purposes of being
an eligible voter pursuant to K.S.A. 2-3002, and amendments
thereto, a
grower who is a legal entity who owns or who shares in the
ownership
and risk of loss of such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or sun-
flowers, whether as landlord or tenant, on which there is no
individual
ownership and risk of loss of such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat
or sunflowers, shall designate a natural person to register
to vote for such
legal entity;
(b) ``first purchaser'' means any person,
public or private corporation,
association or partnership buying or otherwise acquiring after
harvest, the
property in or to corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or sunflowers
from a grower. A mortgagee, pledgee, lienor or other person, public
or
private, having a claim against the grower under a nonrecourse loan
made
against such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or sunflowers after
harvest thereof shall be deemed a first purchaser hereunder. The
term
``first purchaser'' shall not include a harvesting or threshing
lienor;
(c) ``commercial channels'' means the
sale of corn, grain sorghum,
soybeans or, wheat or sunflowers for
use as food, feed, seed or any in-
dustrial or chemurgic use, when sold to any commercial buyer,
dealer,
processor, cooperative, or to any person, public or private, who
resells
any corn, grain sorghum, soybeans or, wheat
or sunflowers or product
produced from corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or sunflowers;
(d) ``sale'' means and includes any
pledge or mortgage of corn, grain
sorghum, soybeans or, wheat or
sunflowers, after harvest, to any person,
public or private;
(e) ``department'' means the Kansas
department of agriculture; and
(f) ``secretary'' means the secretary of
agriculture or the secretary's
authorized representative.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 2-3002 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 2-3002.
(a) There are hereby created four five
separate and distinct commissions
which shall be known as the Kansas corn commission, the Kansas
grain
sorghum commission, the Kansas soybean commission
and, the Kansas
wheat commission and the Kansas sunflower commission. Each
commis-
sion will have members elected through an election process as
provided
in subsection (b) to serve three-year terms, with the exception of
transi-
tion commissioners, serving from the effective date of this act
until elec-
tions occur in 2002, 2003 and 2004, to represent a district or
districts
identified in sub section subsection (b)
with the following requirements:
(1) Any person meeting the requirements
of K.S.A. 2-3003, and
amendments thereto, of that commodity may seek election as a
commis-
sioner to that commodity's respective commission representing the
dis-
trict of such person's official residence. Only a grower of each
specific
commodity shall be a member of that specific commission;
(2) no commission shall have less than
seven commissioners repre-
senting the nine crop reporting districts identified in subsection
(h). If a
commission has less than nine elected commissioners representing
crop
reporting districts, any commissioner representing multiple crop
report-
ing districts may only represent commission districts equal to
whole and
adjoining crop reporting districts that are within the same
election cycle;
and
(3) each commission may, by majority
approval of the commissions,
appoint two additional at-large commissioners for added
representation
for producers due to geographical, cropping pattern or other
reasonable
commodity-specific needs. At-large commissioners will serve a term
de-
termined by the commodity commission not to exceed three-year
terms
of appointment, be a Kansas resident and must meet the definition
of a
grower.
(b) (1) Prior to the first election
as provided by this act, each com-
modity commission shall notify all growers of its respective
commodity of
the commission election and all appropriate election
procedures.
(2) Any grower of corn, grain sorghum,
soybeans or, wheat or sun-
flowers who is a resident of this state, of legal voting age
and has been
actively engaged in growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or
sunflowers within the preceding three years shall become an
eligible voter
upon registering to vote in a commission election. Registration
shall be
on a single form allowing registration to any or all commission
elections.
Forms shall be provided by the commissions and made available at
all
county extension offices, county conservation district offices and
through
the office of the secretary. Any grower also shall become
registered by
signing a petition for a candidate to be placed on the election
ballot, upon
the filing of such petition. Candidate petition forms shall be
provided by
the office of the secretary. Registration by internet or other
means shall
also be allowed upon the approval of the secretary. No grower shall
cast
more than one ballot for any commission election.
(3) Any person meeting the qualifications
to serve as a commissioner
may appear on the election ballot for their respective commission
district
by submitting a petition to be placed on the ballot on or before
October
31 November 30 in the year immediately
preceding the election. The
petition shall contain the signatures of 20 eligible voters of that
commod-
ity commission election to be a valid petition. However, no more
than
five petition signatures shall be used to qualify any candidate
from any
one county.
(4) Commission election ballots shall be
mailed to eligible voters by
January 15 and shall be returned to the election officer, as
provided
through the common election procedure required in subsection (e),
on
or before March 1 in the year of any election. Successful
candidates in
any election will have received the highest number of the votes
cast.
Election results will be announced as soon as the election has been
de-
termined with successful candidates taking office with terms
effective
April 1 in the year of the election.
(5) On and after July 1, 2002, any
interested person or entity in the
agriculture industry, with emphasis on growers of sunflowers,
may submit
names to the governor for appointment to the Kansas sunflower
commis-
sion. On or after September 1, 2002, the governor shall appoint
nine
members to the Kansas sunflower commission from among the
names
submitted to the governor, if possible, to represent each of the
crop re-
porting districts as provided in this section. The terms of the
members
appointed by the governor shall be the same as provided in
subsection (d)
and the same election provisions as provided in this section
applicable to
the other commissions shall apply to such appointed members,
except that
the members appointed to represent districts IV, V and VI shall
not stand
for election in 2002 but rather shall have their initial term of
office to run
until the election held for such districts in 2005. At such time
the same
election provisions of this section applicable to the other
commissions shall
apply to such members.
(c) Upon the effective date of this act,
each commission created shall
meet as soon as feasible to organize, elect officers and ratify the
number
of commissioners and representative districts that commission shall
main-
tain. Commissioners currently serving these commissions
immediately
prior to the effective date of this act are appointed to transition
terms as
follows: (1) Commissioners whose terms expire in June, 2000, shall
have
their terms extended until April, 2002; (2) commissioners whose
terms
expire in June, 2001, shall have their terms extended until April,
2003;
and (3) commissioners whose terms expire in June, 2003, shall have
their
terms extended until April, 2004.
(d) Annual elections for up to three
commissioners representing dis-
tricts shall begin in January and February of 2002. Commissioners
elected
shall take office April 1 of the year elected and serve a
three-year term.
Elections will occur as follows and continue on a three-year cycle
there-
after: (1) In districts IV, V and VI, the initial election year
shall be 2002;
(2) in districts I, II and III, the initial election year shall be
2003; and (3)
in districts VII, VIII and IX, the initial election year shall be
2004.
(e) The four five
grain commissions, as provided in this act shall main-
tain on file a common election procedure with the secretary of the
Kansas
department of agriculture, who will serve as the final arbitrator
of any
dispute regarding the election procedure.
(f) Any grower who appropriately
registers to vote shall be able to do
so in an election for any commissioner representing that commodity
and
district where the grower maintains such grower's official
residence.
(g) Any challenge to election results for
the position of commodity
commissioner representing a district shall be initially reviewed by
a panel
of commissioners, not standing for election that year, and
representing
all four grain commissions. If the challenge is not resolved before
the
panel of commissioners, the secretary shall serve as the final
arbitrator of
the challenge to the election results.
(h) Vacancies which may occur shall be
filled for unexpired terms by
appointment by the remaining commissioners.
(i) The dean of the college of
agriculture of Kansas state university
and the secretary of the Kansas department of agriculture shall be
ex
officio members, without the right to vote, of each such
commission.
Districts are the same as crop reporting districts established for
Kansas
by the U.S. department of agriculture national agricultural
statistic service
and are as follows:
(j) District I shall consist of the
following counties: Cheyenne, De-
catur, Graham, Norton, Rawlins, Sheridan, Sherman and Thomas.
District II shall consist of the following
counties: Gove, Greeley, Lane,
Logan, Ness, Scott, Trego, Wallace and Wichita.
District III shall consist of the following
counties: Clark, Finney, Ford,
Grant, Gray, Hamilton, Haskell, Hodgeman, Kearny, Meade,
Morton,
Seward, Stanton and Stevens.
District IV shall consist of the following
counties: Clay, Cloud, Jewell,
Mitchell, Osborne, Ottawa, Phillips, Republic, Rooks, Smith and
Wash-
ington.
District V shall consist of the following
counties: Barton, Dickinson,
Ellis, Ellsworth, Lincoln, McPherson, Marion, Rice, Rush, Russell
and
Saline.
District VI shall consist of the following
counties: Barber, Comanche,
Edwards, Harper, Harvey, Kingman, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt, Reno,
Sedgwick, Stafford and Sumner.
District VII shall consist of the following
counties: Atchison, Brown,
Doniphan, Jackson, Jefferson, Leavenworth, Marshall, Nemaha,
Pottawatomie, Riley and Wyandotte.
District VIII shall consist of the following
counties: Anderson, Chase,
Coffey, Douglas, Franklin, Geary, Johnson, Linn, Lyon, Miami,
Morris,
Osage, Shawnee and Wabaunsee.
District IX shall consist of the following
counties: Allen, Bourbon, But-
ler, Chautauqua, Cherokee, Cowley, Crawford, Elk, Greenwood,
Labette,
Montgomery, Neosho, Wilson and Woodson.
(k) Meetings and any records of any
commission created by this act
shall be open to the public to the same extent as is required by
law of
public boards and commissions pursuant to the open records act and
the
open meetings act. Records shall include contracts entered into by
any
commission.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 2-3003 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 2-3003.
Members of each commission created pursuant to K.S.A. 2-3002,
and
amendments thereto, shall be residents of this state who have been
ac-
tively engaged in growing corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or
sunflowers, as applicable, in this state for at least five
years immediately
preceding such member's election.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 2-3006 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 2-3006.
The secretary shall have the following duties, authorities and
powers to:
(1) Hire such clerical and other
personnel deemed necessary to carry
out the provisions of this act;
(2) establish recordkeeping requirements
deemed necessary by the
commodity commission affected;
(3) inspect and audit any records
required to be kept pursuant to this
act; and
(4) contract with the corn, grain
sorghum, soybean and, wheat and
sunflower commissions for the collection of assessment as
provided by
this act and enter into any other contracts necessary to carry out
the
provisions of this act.
Sec. 5. K.S.A. 2-3007 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 2-3007.
(a) There is hereby levied an assessment upon grain sorghum
marketed
through commercial channels in the state of Kansas. The grain
sorghum
commission shall set the assessment at a rate of not more than five
mills
per bushel. There is hereby levied an assessment upon corn
marketed
through commercial channels in the state of Kansas. The corn
commission
shall set the assessment at a rate of not more than five mills per
bushel.
There is hereby levied an assessment upon soybeans marketed
through
commercial channels in the state of Kansas. The soybean
commission
shall set the assessment at a rate of not more than 20 mills per
bushel.
There is hereby levied an assessment upon wheat marketed through
com-
mercial channels in the state of Kansas. The wheat commission shall
set
the assessment at a rate of not more than 10 mills per bushel.
There is
hereby levied an assessment upon sunflowers marketed through
commer-
cial channels in the state of Kansas. The sunflower commission
shall set
the assessment at a rate of not more than seven and one-half
mills per
bushel ($0.03 per cwt). Any commission shall not change the
assessment
rate, either to increase or reduce, more than once a year. Such
assessment
shall be levied and assessed to the grower at the time of sale, and
shall
be shown as a deduction by the first purchaser from the price paid
in
settlement to the grower. Under the provisions of this act, no
corn, grain
sorghum, soybeans or, wheat or
sunflowers shall be subject to the assess-
ment more than once. The commission shall furnish to every first
pur-
chaser receipt forms which shall be issued by such first purchaser
to the
grower upon the payment of such assessment. The form shall
indicate
thereon the procedure by which the grower may obtain a refund of
any
such assessment, except a refund shall not be issued unless the
amount
of the refund is $5 or more. Within one year after any and all
sales during
such period the grower may upon submission of a request therefor to
the
commission, obtain a refund in the amount of the assessments
deducted
by the first purchaser. Such request shall be accompanied by
evidence of
the payment of the assessments which need not be verified.
(b) The commission shall keep complete
records of all refunds made
under the provisions of this section. Records of refunds may be
destroyed
two years after the refund is made. All funds expended by the
commission
in the administration of this act and for the payment of all claims
growing
out of the performance of any duties or activities pursuant to this
act shall
be paid from the proceeds derived from such assessment. In the case
of
a lien holder who is a first purchaser as defined in this act, the
assessment
shall be deducted by the lien holder from the proceeds of the
claim
secured by such lien at the time the corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or,
wheat or sunflowers are pledged or mortgaged. The assessment
shall con-
stitute a preferred lien and shall have priority over all other
liens and
encumbrances upon such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or
sunflowers. The assessment shall be deducted and paid as
provided in
this section whether such corn, grain sorghum, soybeans
or, wheat or
sunflowers are stored in this or any other state.
(c) Any corn, grain sorghum, soybean
or, wheat or sunflowers ac-
quired by a grower as defined in K.S.A. 2-3001, and amendments
thereto,
under the provisions of any federal program shall be subject to the
pro-
visions of this section.
(d) No assessments for soybeans shall be
collected pursuant to sub-
section (a) while the national checkoff program for soybeans,
established
pursuant to public law 101-624, remains in effect. Collection of
assess-
ments pursuant to subsection (a) shall be reinstated upon the
withdrawal
of the national checkoff program for soybeans, established pursuant
to
public law 101-624.
Sec. 6. K.S.A. 2-3001, 2-3002, 2-3003, 2-3006 and 2-3007
are hereby
repealed.
Sec. 7. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved April 24, 2002.
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